Grenade
by Avangeline Fierce
Summary: Inuyasha is horribly betrayed by Kagome. As a distraction his Youkai informs him there is a way to strengthen his soul enough to withstand having his demon take control. He needs to survive a stab from a Vizard's Zanpakuto. Yaoi Ichigo/Inu
1. Bad Romance

**Grenade**

**Avangeline Fidela-Pierce**

**Summary: **Inuyasha is horribly betrayed by Kagome. As a distraction his Youkai informs him there is a way to strengthen his soul enough to withstand having his demon take control occasionally. He needs to survive a stab from a Vizard's Zanpakuto.**  
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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Bleach, I am just thankful their creators allow us to play with their characters, beat them up, sexualize them, turn them gay, and otherwise mistreat and abuse them. **  
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**Universe: **This story takes place after the events of Inuyasha, and begins at the start of the Arrancar arc, directly after Ichigo meets the Vizards. If you haven't watched up to that point this story will contain spoilers, but if that doesn't bother you it shouldn't be too hard to follow along with my story. I try to make my crossovers understandable no matter which of the series you prefer watching. **  
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**Rating: M 16+**

**Warnings:** This story will contain slow burn Yaoi, violence, betrayal, drama, and OOC characters.

**Note: **This story is starting out in Inuyasha's POV, but will switch between him and Ichigo as time goes on. The transition should be fairly easy to follow, let me know if it needs to be clearer.

**Chapter One**

**Bad Romance**

Inuyasha stared down at the warm bundle in his arms. The tiny fingers, the rose petal mouth, the pitch black mop of hair, and the beautiful eyes closed in sleep. This was the result of ten hours at Kagome's bed side. This tiny little human. Human.

_**'This is not our pup,' **_The voice that whispered to Inuyasha was deep and resonating, somewhere between a growl and a rasp. The voice of his Youkai, the one that had been getting steadily stronger ever since the first time his father's rich blood had taken over his body and soul. His human side never spoke to him like his demon did, and it had been maddening in the beginning when the whispers had barely been audible, just on the edge of his consciousness.

_'I know,' _Inuyasha replied internally. Feeling like he had just been run through with one of Naraku's tentacles, despite knowing the bastard had been dead for years. This was supposed to be his pup, his, but it was obvious the child in his arms didn't have a drop of Inuyasha's blood in him.

Ever since they had finally defeated Naraku and completed the Shikon No Tama, Kagome and him had been living together. They had used the power of the jewel to fix the damage the final battle had caused, meaning Inuyasha had forfeited his claim on it, not becoming the full demon he had always wanted to be. The battle had taught him that his own strength was enough. Now, three years later Inuyasha had agreed to live in Kagome's time, giving the girl the chance to finish school and have the life she had wished for before the jewel had come into her life. It meant he constantly had to hide who and what he was, finding work that could be done without formal education, and that allowed him to not wear a uniform so he could hide his distinguishing features. It had been a strain on him, but he had done it anyway to make Kagome happy.

Now this. He had seen it for awhile before the pregnancy. The oddities in Kagome's behavior. When she would stay late studying at the library, only to come home smelling freshly washed, like she had just stepped out of the shower before walking home. Or the times she would leave the house without wearing a hint of perfume, but when she came home she would be covered in the strongly scented spray, making Inuyasha sneeze and back off from greeting her as he usually did. Then she had happily informed him he would be a father, and things went back to the way they used to be for awhile, though she was moody and demanding during her pregnancy Inuyasha took it in stride thankful for the family she was providing him with.

This child was not his.

Kagome had cheated on him, and was trying to pass the other man's offspring onto him.

A small unhappy sound reached through Inuyasha's distraction, his arms had unconsciously tightened around the baby, causing the boy to whimper in discomfort. He looked down at the disgruntled baby, and slowly loosened his hold so the child was once again resting comfortably. This wasn't the child's fault, and shouldn't be punished for his parent's sins. Carefully setting the baby down in the bassinet at the end of Kagome's bed, he walked up to watch her sleeping face like he loved to do, lent down and pressed a light kiss to her temple, and walked out of the hospital room not looking back.

He had given up far too many of his own plans to forgive her for this one. She could cry and claim she had been too scared to tell him, or that she hadn't meant to, or that it hadn't been serious with the other person. None of that would change the feeling like he had a knife in his gut and she was the one on the other side of it. Maybe if it had been a one time thing, a momentary weakness, that she had confessed to immediately he might have been able to forgive her.

_'Where do I go from here?' _Inuyasha didn't trust his own judgment right now, he needed guidance, from the only source that had never lied to him.

**'_Do you still wish to be a full demon?" _**His Youkai asked him, distracting his depressed host, if Inuyasha did something stupid and got himself injured or killed that would harm his demon in turn, this was done purely for self-preservation.

_'Is that even a possibility anymore? The jewel is gone, and without Tetsusaiga I could go mad, is that what you want?' _Inuyasha figured he could get away with being ab it grumpy with his demon with everything that had just happened to him.

_**'Tetsusaiga isn't gone, you may have put it to the side, but you can't lie and say you have forgotten where it is at. You will need it with what I am planning. There is no way for your body to change, but there is a way to strengthen your soul enough you can invoke me and not loose your sanity. The catch is going to be finding the right person and having the courage to let them do what needs to be done.' **_Youkai definitely sounded annoyed, but informed him of the possibility anyway.

Inuyasha was wary now, his demon was an extension of himself and like him didn't usually avoid saying anything no matter how blunt or harsh it may be, and he had definitely skirted around many details in that brief explanation. _'What exactly needs to be done? Why is there a specific person I need for it to work?'_

_**'You do not need a specific person, just a special type of person, there is more than one but they aren't abundant either. What you need is a Vizard, and from them you will need to be stabbed by their sword. A Vizard was once a human with a large amount of spiritual pressure, when this human died their spiritual pressure did not allow them to pass directly on to the afterlife in the soul society, instead they were reborn as a Shinigami, or Soul Reaper. A spiritual being possessing the power to cleanse Hollow souls and provide safe passage to the Soul Society for those that get stuck in the living world as spirits. Some of the stronger Soul Reapers possess an inner Hollow, one of the incomplete souls that are dangerous and destructive, not completely dissimilar to Youkai. When the Soul Reaper fights and defeats the Hollow inside they become stronger having access to the power of the Hollow, and once they have control over their Hollow mask the Soul Reaper has now become a Vizard.'**_

_'Hold on a second, how do you know all this when I do not? You are a part of me aren't you?'_

_**'All souls are required to go through re-birthing cycles, Youkai do just the same as others even if we do have a much longer life span than most mortal beings. The difference for Youkai is that when we are reborn we do not forget what we learned in our previous lives. I have seen this Soul Society for myself, and I know of what I speak because I saw the results of the Soul Reapers evolution first hand. You have spiritual power from your human side that is locked away, that would normally not awaken until you die, but the one thing that could awaken this power and strengthen you enough to allow me control without repercussions is being stabbed by the Zanpakuto of a Vizard. The power of a Soul Reaper and a Hollow is condensed and amplified by the sword, your spiritual pressure will react to this concentrated essence and awaken to protect you. This will make your human side just as strong as your Youkai. You will still be a Hanyou, but you would have control. Is that what you want?' **_

_'It is a better plan than sitting around here moping, alright, I will try and go through with this. Do you have any idea how to find these Vizards?' _

_**'I do have a way, but first you will need your sword. Where ever the Soul Reapers and Vizards are at, there is bound to be trouble. Until you complete the change you are still at risk if you get into fatal trouble in our travels.' **_

_'Keh, alright. I wasn't going to leave Tetsusaiga anyway. That sword will never be far away from me.' _

Inuyasha finally had a plan, and with that in mind he walked back to the house he had shared with Kagome. Just smelling the woman that had betrayed him was painful but he needed a few things from here. In the back of the closet was a large trunk that contained the things Inuyasha had brought with him from his own time, but had packed away for the sake of blending in. He ran his hands lovingly over his fire rat clothing that he had missed so dearly, and wrapped up in the folds of crimson cloth was a familiar sheath.

Had he been in his own time, with threats everywhere and a pack to protect Inuyasha would never have taken the sword off. There was too much danger of him getting in a life or death fight and having his demon blood come to the surface driving him closer to insanity every time. His Youkai watched over him out of selfish self-preservation, he would rather have an insane host than a dead one. Here in Kagome's modern world, the threat of attack was lower than the threat of discovery. So the sword had been packed away with his clothes. Ready if he needed it, but not in his immediate possession.

On impulse he drew out the clothes and changed into them, feeling his spirits rise at the comfortable familiarity, and when he added the sword strapped securely to his waist he almost felt like his old self again. With a grimace of annoyance he reached up to his hair, where a strip of white cloth had the duel purpose of keeping his bushy white hair out of his face and compressing his most telling feature against his head to be unnoticed. Undoing the strip of cloth his two soft dog ears sprang free from their confinement and for the first time in years Inuyasha felt like himself.

Turning back to the chest he lifted out the very last item in the bottom of it. A necklace with alternating beads and teeth, the necklace of subjugation. The tool in which Kagome had complete control over his actions, one wrong move, one misplaced comment and he would be rocketed into the earth at a frighting velocity. She had removed the beads from his neck the moment they had stepped through the well to start their life here. These beads held so many memories Inuyasha couldn't just leave them. Slipping the necklace into his pocket he moved on to the rest of his preparation.

Moving to the bedroom he packed a few of his modern clothes just in case, as well as another strip of cloth for a headband, before picking up the wallet that had caused so much hassle when he needed to acquire the needed identification for living in this era. Neither Kagome or him had the heart to ask the teenage Souta exactly how he knew where to get such things, but it still gave Inuyasha a chuckle to remember the awkward conversation that had lead up to his getting the fake identification. He knew he had enough cash on him to cover a few days food, plus the money in the joint bank account. He would have felt bad about taking it when Kagome was going to need money to care for the baby, but it had been Inuyasha's hard work that earned that money, and since the child was not his he saw no reason to support the baby when the boy's real father should do so. He would only use his share of the money, anything Kagome had earned he wouldn't touch, he had that much honor left anyway.

_**'Ready to go?' **_If Inuyasha didn't know better he could almost think his Youkai was excited about this.

_'Lead the way.' _Inuyasha agreed.


	2. Chained to You

**Grenade**

**Avangeline Fidela-Pierce**

**Reading Guide:**

_**'Words written like this are Inuyasha's youkai talking.'**_

'_Words written like this are Inuyasha replying to his youkai.'_

**'Words written like this are Ichigo's Hollow speaking,'**

'Words written like this are Ichigo replying to his Hollow.'

**Chapter Two**

**Chained to You**

Ichigo Kurosaki was a fifteen year old substitute Soul Reaper. He had battled within the heart of Soul Society to rescue Rukia, the imprisoned friend and Soul Reaper responsible for introducing him to the world of monsters and Shinigami. In the process of rescuing the girl he had earned his current rank as well as the respect of many highly ranked Shinigami. Then he had gone through the battle with the Bounts, vampire like beings who fed on the souls of humans rather than blood, defeating their leader Gin Kariya and gaining even more attention from the 13 court guard squads. These squads were the pride of the Soul Society, this was where the Soul Reapers were organized. Ichigo had no squad to call his own. After all the Soul Society had no room for a living Shinigami, he was only useful when there was a direct attack, or when their was trouble in the living world. Ichigo was a protector and he was content with that.

Now though after all of his achievements he was faced with something so incredibly daunting he assumed if any of his fiends ever found out his secret he would be abandoned, or worse hunted down and executed. He though Rukia might suspect the truth, it had been her words that had him finally hunt down his current teachers. Still he wasn't sure how aware she was of the full extent of his new power.

He was strong enough to scare himself now. The power he had was enormous, but with that came an even greater risk of loosing control of the monster inside him. His Hollow had been right, while he did fight to protect and defend, he couldn't deny the thrill he got when fighting. That spark of determination that kept him fighting past what should have been his limit. This new strength meant he could better protect his friends, but it also meant he was capable of hurting them worse than any Hollow.

He looked down at the mask in his hands. It was white and skull like, with three red stripes arcing across the left side of the face and over the forehead. It was ironic such a darkly powerful thing should be mostly white, but here it was. The face of a monster, the face of his shame, the mask of a Hollow, and it was his face that would be hidden behind the mask. This was his power now, and his curse, all rolled into one mind numbing mass of confusion and madness.

Hearing soft foot steps behind him, Ichigo carefully dispelled the mask back to the hidden part of his mind, ready to summon it again when he had need of the Hollow power the mask invoked. Turning slightly to see who the steps belonged to he was greeted with the sight of a very tiny person wearing green and white clothing. "Toushiro what are you doing here?"

The child like Captain exhaled sharply, his hackles rising, "It's Captain Hitsugaya to you, and I felt the presence of a Hollow nearby, its Spiritual Pressure has disappeared now. I thought that was your doing, but if you're here, than who?"

"Where are the others at?" Ichigo asked, cutting off the prodigy before he could go any further.

"On the other side of town, only the two of us are supposed to be here, something strange is going on." Toushiro replied, not protesting the interruption, as that would just cause an argument and get them nowhere.

"Alright, do you think you can find where the Hollow was at before it disappeared?" Ichigo admittedly sucked at sensing Spiritual Pressure, his own was usually clouding his senses, he relied on luck or the others around him to point him in the right direction.

"Yeah I can, it wasn't far from here," With that Toushiro started hopping from roof to roof, following his memory to the place the Hollow was recently at. Ichigo was lucky the smaller man had went ahead, so he missed the relieved sigh he couldn't suppress.

Ichigo had been frightened that Toushiro had sensed him when he summoned his mask in order to contemplate his situation. He knew his spiritual pressure changed when he was wearing the mask, but didn't know how strong it was with him just holding the mask. He blamed his own careless inattention for forgetting the young Captain's presence. Of course a Captain of the 13 court guard squads would be able to sense the change in him, but it seemed luck was on his side tonight with the larger anomaly calling Toushiro's attention.

When they reached the place, even Ichigo could tell the Hollow that was killed had been powerful. The lingering damage from the battle that killed the beast had left its mark on the normally orderly park they found themselves in. Toushiro was already inspecting the ground of the scene, analyzing what he could of the battle that had been fought, trying to piece together what could have killed the Hollow, and yet not set off his internal alarms to the presence of Spiritual Pressure.

It was Ichigo that saw the flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and before he could think he had his Zanpakuto in his hands and was rushing to meet the colorful blur that had been speeding towards the fully engrossed Captain. His shock at being met by a sword that was both not a Zanpakuto but that could still block Zangetsu's swing was obvious. "Who are you?" The question was already out of his mouth before he got a good look at the man standing in front of him.

The man was tall, maybe an inch taller than himself, and he was decked out in billowing red clothing that made him appear much larger in bulk than the slender form truly was. For a second Ichigo wasn't quite sure the figure in front of him really was a guy until he looked a little closer. His long white hair and glowing amber eyes confused the Soul Reaper until he got a good look at the masculine set of the jaw and the irritated scowl, no definitely not a woman. Then Ichigo's eyes raced back up to the top of the man's head. There, he hadn't been hallucinating, there really were two white fluffy dog ears on the top of his head, partially shielded by the thick hair. "Better question, what are you?"

The man stopped his charge, but didn't withdraw the massive sword holding Ichigo at bay. "Why should I tell you?"

"You were about to attack my friend, you at least owe me your name if we are going to fight. I am Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo fired back, leveling Zangetsu at the strange new person, just as the other's sword was poised at him.

"Inuyasha," The man grunted, before charging again, Tetsusaiga ready for a fight after the many years of peace. It was a demon forged blade, and would never be completely content with peace.

**'King, you may have bitten off more than you can chew with this one,' **Shiro was laughing at Ichigo now. The Hollow knew the truth.

'What do you know Shiro?' Ichigo demanded, knowing his Hollow loved to gloat, and he would eventually learn the truth, Shiro would tell him just to prove his superior knowledge.

**'That is a Hanyou, and his blade is made from a demon's fang. Or more likely two fangs as the sword has two demonic auras not just one. Oh, wait, one of the aura's is his own, he probably used his own fang to strengthen or repair the sword at some point.'**

'What's a Hanyou?' Ichigo asked as he avoided another blow by the demonic sword in front of him.

**'A half-breed demon. Think Captain Komamura, you didn't think it was normal for a Bear to walk on two legs with the same or more intelligence as a human did you? This one is half human though, makes him a tad unpredictable.' **Shiro passed on his knowledge, for two reasons one was definitely the desire to rub his knowledge in Ichigo's face, and the other was if his host died so did he. Then he would never get a chance to take over the body completely.

The hanyou Inuyasha stepped up his attacks then and Ichigo had to cut off his conversation with his Hollow, he needed to concentrate or this half-demon was going to slaughter him. "Why have you come here?" He shouted trying to understand this attack, Hollows attacked out of hunger and madness, this creature seemed to have no such drive if he was capable of holding off his attack long enough to give his name.

"I don't have to tell you!" Inuyasha replied indignantly, where did this guy learn to fight? Questioning him when the time would have been better spent on countering his attack, so far all this man had done was block his strikes.

"Why not? You might as well tell why you attacked us out of nowhere!" Ichigo shouted, trying to distract Inuyasha from Toushiro who was circling around the Hanyou, his Zanpakuto drawn and ready.

"I'm looking for someone." The red clad figure finally grumbled out, as he shifted his weight and turned to face Toushiro's first attack on him. Inuyasha took one look at him and lowered his blade just enough to block the strike but also avoid harming the small body. "Get back! I don't fight kids!" Inuyasha warned.

"I am no kid!" Toushiro practically growled in anger, he hated being seen as a child just because of his size. "I am Captain Hitsugaya leader of squad ten of the 13 court guard squads in the Soul Society, and far older than you!" He sneered, taking Ichigo's place in fighting the Hanyou. Inuyasha had managed to invoke his anger.

"You may have a title, but your body language says differently, get back boy!" Inuyasha really did growl then, maybe the Hanyou got more than his ears from a canine?

Toushiro Hitsugaya was not gonna stand for this, he was about to release Hyourinmaru when the tip of a black sword pierced the Hanyou's shoulder clean through to the hilt. Ichigo in full Ban-kai stood behind the startled Half-demon. "Inuyasha, stand down, I do not like killing if I do not have to!" Ichigo commanded, deciding to give the Hanyou a chance to explain himself before he killed him. This was too much of an oddity to just let him go, or kill him outright, something bigger was going on behind this seemingly random attack.

Inuyasha was beyond replying though, the moment Ichigo's blade has entered his skin. Came in contact with his blood, his Youkai started going crazy. _**'He is one of them! This wound is not enough, this blade is not at full strength. Stay near him. He can help us!" **_Inuyasha could feel the demon inside him pushing against the barrier Tetsusaiga invoked to protect his sanity. He wanted to be closer to this new source of power, sword or no sword.

"_Calm down! He will kill us before he can help us if you force me to transform now!" _Inuyasha barked to his impulsive inner self. His Youkai might have lived a few more lifetimes than his own, but Inuyasha was still the dominating personality, and right now the Hanyou felt like that might not be a good thing.

Finally pulling himself away from his internal dialogue once his Youkai settled at his words, he was able to lower Tetsusaiga and respond to the orange haired Soul Reaper. "I will stand down, that is if you tell me one thing. Do you know anything about Vizards?" Bingo, the cinnamon colored eyes just widened and the strong jaw dropped, a look of panic setting in.

"What do you want those exiles for?" The young boy who claimed he was a captain spoke up first though, but Inuyasha did not fail to notice the wince that came over the taller Shinigami.

"Toushiro, I think we need to get that wound of his treated before we start grilling him too deeply." Ichigo stopped his friend from further antagonizing the now injured Hanyou. He had been careful to strike a non-lethal area, but it was still bleeding quite profusely and should be treated as soon as possible.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya," He snapped automatically, before saying more, "Ichigo you don't understand, Vizards are just as dangerous as the Arrancars, they are the opposite, instead of a Hollow gaining the power of a Shinigami, they are Shinigami with the power of a Hollow. They are ruthless and hate Soul Reapers, anyone associated with them can't be good news."

"Stop, just stop, as the one who hates people jumping to conclusions about you, it seems you make a habit of judging others too quickly. I know it upsets you when people call you a child, but this time I think maybe you should give him a chance." Ichigo didn't know why he was defending Inuyasha so intensely, after all the half-demon did just attack them, but Toushiro's comments on Vizards had thrown him off his stride.

"Alright Ichigo, but he is your responsibility, if he harms a single hair on anyone's head I will have every Soul Reaper in the Seritei after your hide." Toushiro must have felt Ichigo's words hit a little too close to home, he was giving in far easier than Ichigo had been expecting.

Ichigo nodded, "Alright, I'll keep him in line." Ichigo agreed and before he could say anything else the young Captain flash stepped out of the clearing, wanting to be away for a little while and think over what just happened.

"Keh, as much as he protests he still acts like a kid." Inuyasha commented, bringing Ichigo's full attention back to him.

"Yeah, and I think he knows that. He is a prodigy where he is from and advanced very quickly, too quickly I think, power sometimes isn't enough. He is a good Captain though, and is extremely dedicated to his job, I don't use his title to remind him that there are more people than just him fighting this war. Now enough about him for the moment, what exactly do you want with the Vizards?" Ichigo felt he had babbled a bit too much about Toushiro but he wasn't sure he was comfortable confronting this issue just yet, but it had to be dealt with one way or the other.

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, as if debating whether to tell him or not. "I need their help to gain enough strength to control a dangerous part of myself."

"I can understand that," Ichigo mumbled below his breath before saying louder, "I may be able to help you, but as you saw there are obstacles to that. My team has no tolerance for Hollows of any kind, even half-hollows like a Vizard."

Inuyasha wondered just how hard he would have to push to get Ichigo to admit the truth. "And you don't have this problem?"

"Oh, I have my own bone to pick with the Vizards, I just wish my team wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly, it would make telling them things a lot easier." Ichigo explained. "Now, if you follow me I can take you to my house and get you fixed up, my family runs a health clinic, and I doubt your the sort of person who wants a lot of run ins with normal doctors." Ichigo offered with a pointed glance at the non-human ears.

Inuyasha didn't feel like completely lying to him, so he let him know, "With my heritage I will heal much quicker than a human. There is no point in you wasting your time."

"I wont be wasting my time to get it cleaned up and bandaged so you can heal that much quicker. Shinigami have a fast healing rate too, doesn't make it instant. Plus,I promised the person in charge of this little mission that I would keep an eye on you. So quit complaining and let me see to that wound, I caused it, I may as well help you deal with it." Ichigo insisted, leading the Hanyou towards his home knowing his family would be in bed, and shouldn't pose any problem for him treating Inuyasha.

"You don't need me to tell you what I am?" Inuyasha inquired warily, he hadn't been expecting this kind of treatment at all, plus he remembered the fighter had asked him what he was before the fight had gotten too heated.

"No, and I doubt I need to tell you what I am either. I will keep your secret if you keep mine." Ichigo bargained.

"No deal, mine is too visible, someone is going to ask." Inuyasha rejected instantly, keeping his curiosity at the source of Ichigo's knowledge on him to himself.

"You don't just have one secret, I will keep your reasons for seeking out the Vizards to myself. My team will not know that you are dangerous, and need them to keep you under control. I will do that much for you, that should give you a small hint of exactly how much I do not want them knowing the truth." Ichigo pressed.

"Alright, that seems a little more even." Inuyasha agreed. "Now tell me, why do you talk about Vizards like they are something different than you?"

Ichigo's flinch was all the confirmation Inuyasha needed, but his words cemented it even more, "I am slightly different than they are, just like I am slightly different than a Shinigami. All the others you meet have already completed their living world lives, and are on their Soul Society ones. I am the only living one of the bunch."

"Still, I am right aren't I, you are a Vizard not a Soul Reaper correct?" Inuyasha asked, getting some small amusement out of seeing Ichigo squirm.

"Yes. Now come on I don't want to get into another fight tonight, whether its you, or a Hollow. By the way, it was you who killed the Hollow earlier wasn't it?"

"You mean the big ugly thing tearing up the park? Yeah, Tetsusaiga hasn't been used for awhile, just making sure it was awake." Inuyasha smiled contentedly, patting the hilt of the now sheathed fang. "I had just finished killing it when you two showed up, you were dressed oddly and carrying swords, I only attacked so you wouldn't get me first.

"I figured that was the reason when you refused to fight Toushiro, most bad guys don't avoid fights, no matter who their opponent is." Ichigo had figured out what the Hanyou was doing early on, he switched into ban-kai so he could quickly incapacitate Inuyasha. If Zangetsu had been in Shi-Kai release he would have taken off a good chunk of Inuyasha's shoulder, if not the whole arm, rather than just the thin wound he sported now. "Tetsusaiga is your sword I take it? Its a very interesting blade, but why does it have two auras?" Ichigo was content to let Inuyasha think the information came from him being a Soul Reaper and not because he had spoken to his Hollow.

Inuyasha sighed, and stroked the hilt again before answering. "It was originally made from my father's fang, but it was broken in a fight so had to be repaired with one of my own."

"Ah, that explains it, you must be very attuned to that blade." Ichigo observed as he felt the familiar weight of Zangetsu hanging from his back.

"Yes, this sword has brought me through a lot, just as yours has I can imagine." Inuyasha was not so unobservant he couldn't tell the bond between sword and owner with Ichigo.

"Without Zangetsu I would be dead many times over, so yes we are very attached to one another." Ichigo admitted. "We will be at my house in a few minutes, my sisters and father are probably asleep, we will need to be quiet so we don't wake them up."

Inuyasha nodded, deciding words were unnecessary as they drew closer to the Kurosaki household. This could end up being interesting, and it was definitely the kind of distraction he needed right then. This would be good for him.


	3. Sanctuary

**Grenade**

**Avangeline Fidela-Pierce**

**Chapter Three**

**Sanctuary**

"You do heal quickly." Ichigo commented quietly as he cleaned out the already mostly healed wound on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I still feel better doing this though, it would be my fault if that wound got infected."

"I've had worse," The white haired hanyou replied. "Fast healing is one of the benefits to being what I am, they're not many, so I take what I can get."

"Seems like there are plenty of benefits, you can see spiritual beings, and are far stronger and faster than a human. Sounds like a good deal to me." Ichigo commented, cleaning up the mess he had left with the supplies, his father didn't mind Ichigo doing the occasional patch job for a friend but hated coming in and finding his orderly clinic a disaster area.

"I suppose it does sound that way, but you have only seen one side of this problem. I am a half breed. Humans fear me and demons look down on me. Hell my own brother has tried to kill me ever since I was a child." Inuyasha had gotten used to modern humans' immediate assumption that being a hanyou was a great thing, Kagome had thought so too. Being a hanyou had kept him alive, that much Inuyasha knew, but the cost of that strength was almost more than he was willing to pay. Now though he had another chance to bridge the gap between his two worlds. Maybe in this time and place things would be different.

"Your brother would do such a thing?" Ichigo was horrified at the thought, barely restraining himself from running and checking up on his sleeping sisters. He could never imagine letting anything hurt them, and it sickened him to think of ever hurting them himself.

Inuyasha laughed harshly, "Sesshomaru is a full blooded demon, he has no desire to let the half-breed spawn of our father survive. I am a stain on the family blood line that he wants to wipe clean. I give as good as I get though, I took his arm the first time I fought him with Tetsusaiga. The loathing between us is entirely mutual."

"I have two little sisters, nothing could ever make me hurt them. I'm not sure I can ever understand the desire to hurt family members. I realize I don't know anything about your situation, but it seems so wrong to me." Ichigo admitted, not sure saying anything was a good idea so soon after meeting this unknown entity, but unable to keep quiet.

Another harsh laugh, "I hope you never understand it. Suffice it to say there are very dark things in my past involving my brother and it is for the best that those memories stay in the past."

Ichigo nodded as he finished putting the supplies away. "I know some memories are better left alone, I will give you your privacy. Do you have some where to stay tonight? I don't know how long you have been in town for."

"I don't have anywhere yet. I arrived this evening and was attacked by that thing before I could find a place to stay." Inuyasha admitted, glad to be leaving the subject of Sesshomaru behind.

"You can stay here, at least for the night. My family should be used to different people showing up at odd hours. Its been happening more frequently lately." Ichigo offered on impulse, after all Toushiro had asked him to keep an eye on Inuyasha, and the hanyou himself admitted he was dangerous until he got whatever he needed from the Vizards. As far as how Ichigo rationalized letting Inuyasha stay near his family he wasn't really sure to be honest, but he hoped he wouldn't end up regretting the decision later.

Inuyasha seemed to think on the offer for a little while, not jumping into anything too quickly, unknowingly raising Ichigo's confidence in him. The teenage vizard would have been more concerned had Inuyasha immediately jumped at the opportunity. Threats didn't usually take the time to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Alright, I will stay for the night. After that I will try to find something for myself. I can earn my keep." Inuyasha finally decided.

"Follow me," Ichigo ordered, leading Inuyasha out of the clinic side of his home and into their living quarters. Glad Rukia was now staying with his sister and not in his closet like the first time they had shared his home together he was able to take Inuyasha into his room without being hounded by questions. Pulling his spare sleeping mat out of his closet, plus a blanket and pillow from the time Rukia stayed there, he quickly made a place for Inuyasha to sleep on his bedroom floor. "There isn't a whole lot of room here I apologize, but it will be more comfortable than sleeping outside or wondering around all night looking for an open hotel."

"I've slept outside for a large part of my life, it wouldn't be that odd to me, but it might draw attention and I don't want that. Thank you." Inuyasha was not into overly flamboyant thank yous, but he knew when to show a little appreciation, Ichigo was trusting him around his pack. That was something Inuyasha had a lot of experience with.

Ichigo nodded his acceptance of the thank you, before going over to the bed, and roughly shaking the sleeping Kon awake. Inuyasha watched with shock as what looked, and smelled, like Ichigo's twin was awoken and forced to relinquish a small green pill of some sort. The now empty body was on its way to becoming a boneless heap on the ground when Ichigo stepped into it, fading into the shell of a human until there was only one Ichigo standing in front of Inuyasha, now dressed in night clothes with no sword in sight.

"What just happened?" Inuyasha asked with a growl and a hand on Tetsusaiga, unsure just what he had gotten himself into.

"The form you met tonight was my Shinigami soul, a state where I have only a spiritual presence not a physical one. I can still move and touch things, like those healing supplies, but a human without spiritual pressure of their own would not be able to see me. Because I am still alive, I have to remove my soul from my body each time I am needed to preform my duties as a Soul Reaper. The little candy you saw me take out of the body is the container for a modified soul that animates my body when I have to leave it or people would think I was in a coma or dead. The mod soul's name is Kon, and when he is not in my body I normally keep him in a stuffed toy lion so he can interact with us, but I think for tonight it would be best to keep him like this until I get the chance to tell the others that you are here." Ichigo did his best to condense the story down, but wasn't sure how much of that Inuyasha would be able to follow.

Inuyasha slowly lowered his hackles, he understood most of what Ichigo said, but was having a hard time getting used to the surprises this night was bringing at every turn. "Is there anything else I should know before the morning? There is a lot more happening here than I was warned about."

"There is another Soul Reaper staying here, besides the team members scattered around the city, her name is Rukia and she is probably going to have questions for you. She knows more about Soul Reapers than I do anyway as it was her that got me into this mess in the first place. I don't know what the Academy may have taught her about hanyou, but since Toushiro didn't know what you were it might be possible for you to pass as human if you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself." Ichigo figured it was polite to warn Inuyasha about Rukia, that woman could be like a blood hound when it came to finding out something she wanted to know.

"I have passed as a human for the last three years, I can do it again." Inuyasha decided, feeling his Youkai grumble at having to cover up his heritage again. It hadn't been easy to convince him to do it in the first place, and traveling in his true form had only made the desire to show himself for what he was all the stronger.

"We had better think about getting some sleep, my family usually wakes up fairly early, and there is no sleeping in with my father awake." Ichigo warned with a tone of loving exasperation in his voice when he told about Isshin.

Not having slept in more than 24 hours, plus the fight an the wound, Inuyasha was more than ready for sleep. So without protest he carefully unhooked Tetsusaiga, leaving it within easy reach as he slipped under the blanket Ichigo had laid out for him. He heard the rustle of bedclothes as Ichigo slipped into the bed near him, not having to turn out any lights because they had been using the moonlight streaming through the window to see by.

Ichigo's last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were musings on what tomorrow would bring.


	4. Suspicious Minds

**Grenade**

**Avangeline Fierce**

**Chapter Four**

**Suspicious Minds**

Ichigo had been right. As soon as Rukia took in the new person arriving at the Kurosaki breakfast table she started in with the questions, but Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin seemed to take the newcomer in stride. Ichigo's youngest sister asking what Inuyasha would like for breakfast, and Karin ignoring Inuyasha entirely in favor of baiting Isshin. Isshin had done a double take when he first saw the striking combination of silver hair and golden eyes, the fleeting look of recognition passing through his eyes made Inuyasha wonder if the elder Kurosaki may know what he was even with the cloth pinning his ears down.

"Where did you come from?" Rukia was asking Inuyasha, she felt the odd energy coming off him and knew he wasn't human, but the closest she had felt to his aura was when she was near Captain Komamura. That wasn't entirely right either, so she was curious and a bit alarmed at his presence.

"Tokyo, I lived there for three years before a family situation made me decide to leave, Ichigo found me last night when it was too late to go to a hotel. He offered to let me stay the night. I will be looking for my own place today, so I will be gone soon." Inuyasha figured that was as much of the truth as it was safe to say in front of everyone.

"If you are looking for a place here, how long do you plan to be in town?" She didn't seem to realize that she was interrogating a guest, but Ichigo wondered where Rukia's brain went to, didn't she realize if he had found Inuyasha last night than it was while he was in Shinigami form. If Inuyasha could see him then, there was more to the story than could be told in front of Ichigo's family. She would get better answers if she waited, but she didn't appear to have that much patience.

"I'm not sure, at least a month. After that it depends on what kind of work I can find, or if there is a place I can rent long term." It also depended on Ichigo and whether or not he survived the stab that was supposed to strengthen him, but he wasn't about to say that.

That's when Isshin looked up from his verbal sparring match with Karin, "There are not a whole lot of places available around here long term, a few hotels, but they wont come cheap. We already have one extra around here, another set of hands to help with the house couldn't hurt." Isshin may be a bit of a dork to his children, but he was a doctor, and a previous Captain, taking care of people was in his nature. Ichigo didn't get all of his protectiveness from the death of his mother, just the catalyst to act on it.

"I will still look for something, but if I do stay I will pay you rent, I wont take advantage of your offer." Ichigo's dad reminded Inuyasha of Miroku, and oddly enough a bit of Lady Keade, that relaxed him more than he would have thought possible after the events he had went through lately. He wouldn't fawn himself over Isshin's feet, but he wasn't going to throw the man's kindness back in his face.

"Just cover the cost of the extra groceries, and stay away from my daughters, and we'll call it even." Isshin warned him off with a sly grin, but Inuyasha did not miss the steal in his eyes, so the man wasn't just teasing. Inuyasha's instincts told him not to ignore the warning, and he wasn't about to ignore them now.

_**'We have a good place here. Close enough to our goal we can keep an eye on him, and these human's don't seem the type to run us out of their village with rocks an pitchforks.'**_ Youkai was pleased at the results of taking Ichigo up on his offer for lodging over night, though he wasn't too thrilled with having to hide themselves away again.

Inuyasha spoke back to his demon, while trying to make it look like he was paying attention to Rukia's next question. _'I don't like hiding either, but if these Soul Reapers can run around like they do, maybe we can do the same, at least at night when we have some cover.' _

**_'That will have to do, it isn't time for us to reveal the truth to everyone. I'm not happy, but I haven't told you not to hide, have I? This is the best path we have at the moment.' _**At least Youkai wasn't fighting on this, that took too much of Inuyasha's energy and it strained Tetsusaiga to have to hold back that much demonic power.

"Hey Inuyasha! I asked you a question!" Rukia's protest was punctuated with a sharp pain in his shin, the little brat just kicked him!

Ichigo must have realized what happened because he stepped in before Inuyasha could let the angered protest out, "Rukia don't you think you have interrogated him enough? We have to leave now or we will be late for school, and it sounds like he has plans too, so lay off will ya?

That caused Rukia's ire to find a new target, Ichigo. "I was just asking what kind of work he does, it wasn't that personal! Are you telling me you're not curious at all about him?"

"Yeah I am, but you're being rude doing it this way. How would you feel if you kept getting pelted with questions a mile a minute," Ichigo then dropped his voice, "My family didn't do that to you when you showed up out of the blue. Give him time, that's a better way of getting to know him than asking all these questions that can be lied about or simply ignored."

Inuyasha appreciated the help deflecting her attentions, so didn't find it in him to get angry, or even inform Ichigo that while he was talking too quietly for a human to hear them at this distance it was crystal clear to him. When you live in a pack with two humans, one full demon, one demon slayer, with a hanyou alpha, you get used to ignoring comments not meant to be heard by others.

Inuyasha watched as Ichigo masterfully lured Rukia away from the interesting stranger with a string of comments that raised the brunette's ire and caused her to follow him out of the house and towards school. At least Inuyasha figured that's where they were going after Ichigo had mentioned it to her earlier. This assumption seemed to be confirmed when Ichigo's two sisters also took off at the same time.

"Well that was different. Now are you going to tell me why my son managed to bring a half demon to our home in the middle of the night?" Isshin's question threw Inuyasha so badly he couldn't stop from starring.

"What did you just say?" He asked the normal looking human.

_**'He's not human, he is like that annoying girl this morning. Not fully a Shinigami, but not human either." **_Youkai warned.

"You heard me, I know what you are, at one time I had a very good friend who was a Youkai. He mentioned about hanyou a time or two, more importantly that they all had silver hair and some kind of mark that showed which kind of youkai sired them. You are far too young to have that white hair naturally, and most people would just use a tie, not a full headband, so I assume your heritage marking is unusual ears of some type." Isshin explained calmly, still wary, but relaxing a bit as Inuyasha's first reaction was shock not anger.

Inuyasha crossed his arms defensively, wishing for the protection of his fire rat clothes, before responding. "I knew it wouldn't be as easy as Ichigo made it sound, though I thought it would be the girl, or that child-Captain that figured it out first. So you know what I am, do I get to know what you are in return? I know you are not fully human either."

"I can't tell you, Ichigo doesn't even know yet, but I may be forced to tell him soon so please keep that to yourself for the time being. I know about Ichigo's duties by the way, though he doesn't know that I do, that's why I didn't feel the need to panic when a Hanyou showed up at my breakfast table. The offer of a place to stay still stands, and I may just insist on it, if you answer my question. Why are you looking for a place here? It can't be too safe for you to be moving around too visibly, so what has brought you out of hiding?" Isshin knew enough about demons and their like from Komamura that he knew Inuyasha would not be wondering around in the open without a purpose.

"Did this Youkai friend of yours ever explain what it really means to be a half-demon? Not the obvious one of parentage, but the mental side of it?" Inuyasha figured this would be the best place to start, building on what the man may already know.

"Not really, he only told me what a Hanyou was, and the basics of what they looked like. He never really told me about the mental side of being a youkai himself, let alone for half-demons." Isshin confessed.

"Youkai are animal spirits, the stronger ones are intelligent and can take the form of a human, but they are not even slightly human in their instincts. A full youkai is born with a body and soul strong enough to control these intense instincts, Hanyous are not. When threatened with physical harm, those of us sired by TaiYoukai, or demon lords, have enough of a demon side it can take over our bodies and those aggressive animalistic instincts overpower our human halves. The problem with that is we have mostly human souls, the more often our demon blood takes over the closer we are driven to madness by the fighting between our youkai instincts and human soul. Is this making sense so far?" Inuyasha stopped there to let Isshin digest what he had learned. It wasn't an easy concept for a human to figure out if they have never had to fight a darker side of themselves.

"Yes I get it, so you are running from this madness than, why here?" Isshin didn't have too much trouble understanding Inuyasha's explanation, it made quite a bit of sense.

"My Youkai side can speak to me, something about how a hanyou is born allows the demon soul inside of us to take on a mental presence and influence us directly. Probably has something to do with compensating for us not being born with a way to access our Youkai instincts without being in mortal danger. Anyway, I was recently in need of a distraction which is when my demon half informed me there is a way around the madness, at least in my case because my human side has a lot of dormant spiritual pressure passed on from my mother. I'm new to the concept of spiritual pressure but my Youkai insists that is the key to strengthening my soul enough to allow him to come out without risking my sanity and everyone's safety." Inuyasha paused to make sure Isshin was still following.

Isshin nodded his understanding, "Alright, I can see how that might be possible if you had active spiritual pressure, but how do you intend to wake it if it is dormant? Is that why you contacted my son, or did he really just stumble across you last night?" Isshin was deeply concerned about all of his children, but he knew Ichigo put himself in the most danger and as that was mostly his fault to begin with Isshin was truly terrified for Ichigo.

"I do need your son's help, but it wasn't planned that way. Ichigo is a special type of Soul Reaper, its his sword that holds the key, apparently if I survive a stab from his Zanpakuto at full power it will react to my Spiritual Pressure and awaken it. Your son isn't the only one of this type, but he is the first I have found so I was lucky to run into him as early as I did." Inuyasha didn't know if Isshin knew Ichigo was a Vizard not a true Soul Reaper, so he just implied it without directly saying it. Hoping that Isshin would keep this to himself as he had his own secret to protect.

"I know what Ichigo is, you can relax, I saw you tense up as you were explaining. I can't tell you what I am but I can say I can sense Spiritual Pressure and his changed dramatically right before he disappeared on me. I know what the change meant, so don't worry if you are under any agreements to keep the truth to yourself you haven't broken it. Does he know what you need from him?" Isshin had to hide a small chuckle at the deer in the headlights look in Inuyasha's eyes when he tried to avoid talking about Ichigo too deeply. It was heartening to see him trying so hard to keep Ichigo's secrets.

"No, I want him to get a little more used to me, and know that even if he helps me have control over my demon, that I am not going to go on a killing spree the first moment I could. If I wanted that, I wouldn't bother trying to save my sanity. Plus, I want to see him fight a little bit more, for this to work I actually need to survive the attack, an overzealous hit and I wont get the chance to see if this will work." Inuyasha explained his reasoning.

Isshin grinned, "Alright, then welcome to the clan Inuyasha, its crazy around here, but you'll never be bored that I can promise you. I am going to trust you. I don't see any reason to believe you are lying, do not make me take back those words, my son did not get all of his fighting skills from his trainer." Isshin decided a little warning wouldn't hurt, a bad person wouldn't listen, but a good person would realize the threat was acknowledged but they were still being allowed to join them.

"Thank you, now do you happen to know where I may find some work? I meant what I said earlier, I don't want to depend on anyone else." Inuyasha figured this man had surprised him enough already, it wouldn't hurt to ask as he may know a place where his heritage wouldn't have to be hidden so thoroughly.

"As a matter of fact, I may know a shopkeeper around here that hates the morning shift. I believe if I put in a good word for you he might have something you can do. Oh, and if that band of yours happens to slip it won't be a problem, in fact I bet he will know quicker than I did. You should be safe there." Isshin offered, knowing Kisuke wouldn't mind the help and it would be an extra pair of strong hands on call if something happened to Ichigo or his friends.

"I appreciate it, where is this shop, and who do I talk to?" Inuyasha was glad he wouldn't be sitting around doing nothing while everyone else supported him. He figured Isshin's offer was a bit too good, and there had to be a catch somewhere, but for all this family had done for him he would take the chance on this it was the least he could do.


	5. Closer To Fine

Grenade

Avangeline Fierce

Chapter Five

Closer To Fine

Inuyasha didn't know what to expect from Urahara's shop. Would it be a tiny cramped space full of odds and ends? Maybe a sweeping expanse of metal and glass with all the modern goodies Inuyasha had come to enjoy? Would there be only the owner and one or two employees to keep his secrets, or would there be a hive of workers that meant Inuyasha would be overlooked in the crowd?

What he stumbled upon was a medium sized candy shop, two seemingly young children fighting over chores in the courtyard outside the main store. The slightly smaller red haired boy was chasing a girl with black hair and rosy cheeks around the wooden walkway with a broom.

Chuckling under his breath at their antics, Inuyasha stepped between the kids, a hand on the boy's forehead stopping him from tackling the girl. Though the boy did fight against his hold, trying to push passed his hand, Inuyasha had spent too many years corralling Shippo, and to a smaller extent Souta, to lose to the runt. "That's enough of that. Can one of you tell me where I may find Kisuke Urahara? I need to speak with him."

The boy was too busy trying to get past him to answer, he did have to give him some credit, he was very persistent. The girl turned to him though, not bothering to brush off the dust that had collected on her clothes and cheeks, apparently used to the brawls, "He is inside, he is probably awake by now." Inuyasha patted her on the head in thanks with his other hand. He went inside the shop, removing his hand so quickly the boy landed on the ground in an undignified heap. Inuyasha paused long enough to make sure the only thing hurt was the boy's pride before continuing further into the store.

"Impressive, you survived Jinta and Ururu; they usually manage to scare off potential employees, customers too on occasion now that I think about it." The voice came from behind him and Inuyasha whorled around quickly, hand reaching for Tetsusaiga. Yes, he knew it was a gamble to bring the sword with him in the modern world, but now knowing about the Hollows, and stepping into an unknown situation, he felt much more comfortable with the sword on him. The sheath was strapped diagonally across his back, the loose unbuttoned shirt he wore covered up the distinctive shape of the sheath. It was the best camouflage he could come up with that still allowed him to reach the sword if he had to.

Relaxing a bit as he caught the actual words spoken by the green and white clad man he replied slowly, hand still not far from Tetsusaiga. "I've dealt with kids like them before, they don't bother me. I take it you are Kisuke Urahara?" Inuyasha would have known the man was the owner, the whole shop vaguely felt like Shinigami, but this man had the largest source of that essence by far. He felt almost exactly like Isshin, both Shinigami yet strangely not.

"And you are Inuyasha Taisho." That wasn't a question, though Inuyasha was a bit surprised this man knew the last name he had used since coming to the modern world. He hadn't told either Isshin or Ichigo that name. Kisuke seemed to realize what had him shocked, because he was quick to add. "I know the legends of Inu No Taisho, unlike Isshin I was head of a research driven division. Youkai interest me. I hadn't known one of his sons had survived for so long, it is an honor to meet you." Kisuke inclined his head slightly, and what could have been a very deep speech was ruined with the teasing, almost mocking, tone of voice the blonde haired man used.

"So you know who I am, and where I came from, what happens now?" Inuyasha was fighting the urge to flee, he hadn't been in the shop for five minutes before all his secrets were being ripped into the open.

"Isshin has told me what you told him, I don't need to hear that story again, however I have my own question. That sword of yours, how good are you at handling it?" Kisuke challenged, and there was no doubt it was a challenge, despite the calm relaxed way it was delivered.

Inuyasha felt his hackles rise, he didn't like this line of questioning at all. "I have protected myself and my pack from all the enemies that have come before us, including the Youkai responsible for killing my father." Inuyasha decided to let the man before him figure out what that meant.

"Good, you see the boy you met last night is my student, he is heading into a war he is unprepared for. He has a personal battle ahead of him that will drain him body and soul, but if he succeeds he will come back together stronger than he was before. I know you need him, and more importantly, I know why, however you may have a way of repaying that service in advance. I will test your skill; if you are up to par I want you out on the streets fighting in his place until he manages to get his abilities straightened out." The man was still lounging in the shadows, however Inuyasha knew better than to underestimate an opponent.

"Why me? You met me not ten minutes ago, you can't possibly know whether I am a threat or not." Inuyasha didn't want to push his luck, but he refused to be backed into a corner he couldn't claw his way out of.

"I told you, I know the legends. I know how to pick through them and find the facts. You are the second son of Inu no Taisho, a Hanyou born from a human miko, giving you a reservoir of power not normally seen in half-demons. You were raised in the wilds, belonging to neither world, but learning from both. The part that interests me is the rumors you had a pack at one time, comprised of both human and Youkai." Seeing the stricken look on Inuyasha's face, Kisuke stopped that line, forging on in a new direction.

"You didn't know your exploits were recorded did you? Soul Society keeps track of Youkai, they are some of the oldest souls traveling the world, it pays to watch their moves carefully. Soul Society itself is as old as the first soul; it hasn't changed much in the time since its founding. We watched you grow up Hanyou, and I can honestly say you are a better choice to trust than your brother is. You have worked with humans before, you know their strengths and weaknesses, and you somehow managed to drop off our radar for hundreds of years; anyone who can hide that well is an asset to us. I need someone to watch Ichigo's back when he is too warn out to do it himself. In turn I can guarantee you get the help you need, Ichigo isn't the only Vizard, and if he refuses I know where the others are." Kisuke laid the deal on the table.

Inuyasha knew the man was on the edge of desperation. Yes his explanation made sense, but it was still startling, they knew his Youkai could rise at any moment, and their only protection was a sword too risky to carry most of the time. Inuyasha wouldn't hurt anyone if he could help it, he had spent too much time protecting humans to turn his back on them now, but how could they possibly know all that from a few old stories?

"You are going to trust me solely on the word of a few old stories?" Inuyasha had never been one to avoid being blunt, it got him his answers faster.

"Of course not," Kisuke smiled slightly at Inuyasha's question, once again surprising the Hanyou, "You won't get off that lucky. You will be watched at all times, and I did tell you I will be testing you, I never said those tests would only be about your fighting prowess. Those stories only tell me you are worth a chance, not that I should trust you outright. We are going to war, we can't afford to toss aside a potential ally, but I will not allow that to blind us to the danger an unknown entity like yourself may pose."

Finally, Inuyasha felt himself relax, that was the heart of the matter, and once he heard that he knew this wasn't an elaborate trap. They were desperate, but they weren't stupid in that desperation. "What kind of tests? I will submit to them, I have come too far to back away now, I need help just as much as you do." He conceded aloud.

"You already passed one of them, you questioned me. Not out of anger, but because of caution and care, I was glad to hear that. If you were intending to spy on us, you wouldn't have risked your open invitation. I don't discount the possibility you would do that on purpose, so you do not have free rein, but you have earned a bit more trust." Kisuke informed him. "Beyond my minor tests, I will be checking to see how well you fight, and how much control you have over yourself. I want to know just what I am setting loose on the streets at night. Isshin will keep an eye on how you act with Ichigo; don't expect him to go lightly if one of his children gets hurt. I do believe you won't harm the children in the house, but that would go if you were an enemy as well. You wouldn't give your position away so easily as to attack anyone in the house you are staying in."

"I have never and will never hurt a child," Inuyasha interjected, wanting to have some input on the conversation, otherwise he felt like he was being lectured, and that always rubbed him the wrong way. Inuyasha sighed, he hadn't wanted to bring up the past but this man beat him to it, "Your stories are right. I did lead a pack, and it did have humans in it. Tetsusaiga won't work unless I have something to protect, a legacy left from my father. I know you won't believe me on words alone, but it may save you some time and worry. I will protect this town, and Ichigo, as I have protected all the ones who have treated me well in the past." Personally, he felt they were underestimating Ichigo. Isshin and Kisuke were warning him if he hurt Ichigo they would retaliate, yet Inuyasha knew instinctually if there really was a threat, then Ichigo would be the last to fall prey to it.

"I believe you," This time there was no joke in the man's voice. "I do believe, but I can't take any chances, my instincts have been proven wrong before." Kisuke was thinking of Aizen, the person he had so badly misjudged. "Isshin is of the opinion you will be a good ally, and I agree with him. He was the one who didn't trust the things I did, he escaped, while I fell victim. On matters of trust I defer to him now. If he thinks you can be trusted I will agree."

The man seemed to shake himself, as if memories were trying to overtake him; Inuyasha knew the feeling. "If you are ready to begin, there is a place here where we can spar without being sensed. Follow me and we can get this out of the way."

Inuyasha nodded his acceptance. Following the man to a door in the living quarters in the back of the shop, expecting the door to open to a dojo, he was surprised to see it was no bigger than a broom closet, and it contained a single ladder leading down into what appeared to be a well-lit basement.

"That ladder leads to my training room, we should have plenty of room," Kisuke informed him, before heading down the ladder first.

Inuyasha was astonished at the space beneath the store. It had the appearance of a rocky desert, all beige with boulders strewn haphazardly around, several of the rocks appeared to be scorched or fractured. He couldn't see the end of the space, in any direction except the wall where the ladder descended.

"Do whatever you need to get ready for a fight, I will not go easy on you, if you have anything on you that can't be replaced leave it here." Kisuke informed him, and Inuyasha knew that wasn't an empty threat.

He quickly removed the loose shirt he had worn to conceal Tetsusaiga, it would just be in the way. He then reached up and untied the strip of cloth holding his ears down, it dampened his hearing enough to hinder him in a fight. As an afterthought he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, laying it down on the pile of cloth, it was a hassle to replace all the contents if something happened to it.

He removed Tetsusaiga from his back, retying around his waist where the weight was more familiar and less likely to throw him off balance. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a red muscle shirt, the shirt was the same shade of red as his beloved fire rat clothing so it had quickly become his favorite. Deliberating for a moment, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see Kisuke looking on his preparations with amused patience, making his decision he threw the red shirt on the pile as well, he didn't want to go through the hassle of replacing it if it got stained or ripped.

Turning to his opponent, he spoke, "Alright, let's get this over with."

Kisuke smiled wolfishly, and suddenly he disappeared. Only Inuyasha's well honed reflexes had him lift Tetsusaiga in time to stop the blow that came out of nowhere.

Maybe this fight would be a bit harder than he thought.

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Ichigo knew something was odd the moment he stepped into his mentor's shop. For one, Jinta was actually doing his chores, a faint bruise barely visible on his forehead, while Ururu was her normal self. Next, Kisuke was nowhere to be found, Tessai was located in the back looking over boxes of inventory, and he told him Kisuke was downstairs in the training room.

Who would he be training with? Hitsugaya's team was either patrolling or resting up for their turn. He had spotted Renji and Rukia heading towards their favorite restaurant on his way here. He didn't know where Yoruichi was at, but he didn't feel any sign that the cat-woman was near the shop, and he might not know the exact location, but he at least knew his friends' Spiritual Pressure enough to tell if they were nearby.

Well there was one way to find out. He headed down the ladder into the training room, leaving his physical body in the room he always seemed to end up in when he was injured. The moment he cleared the floorboards of the shop, he was coated in a thick layer of dust, whoever was sparring had been at it for awhile to kick up that much debris, he knew that from experience.

At the base of the ladder he found the answer, a now dust covered pile of clothing, and a familiar white strip of cloth were laying on the ground. So Inuyasha had found his way here, he wondered briefly how that had happened, and it was very briefly indeed because almost as soon as he found the clothing a powerful shockwave of blue light cut through the grit. He leaped out of the way, blocking the power residue with a hastily raised Zangetsu. Well that was odd. He had seen Benehime's power before, crimson princess was very fitting, her attack was red, not blue.

The energy wave had the effect of burning away a lot of the dust in the air, and now Ichigo could plainly see who was fighting. A shirtless Inuyasha was panting with exertion, blood running in rivulets from various shallow cuts. Kisuke was closing the gap between him and the Hanyou, his hat had been knocked off, the blonde locks fluttering in the breeze he made rushing towards Inuyasha.

Ichigo watched as Inuyasha rolled out of the path of the blow, coming up swinging his massive sword. Kisuke leaped back nimbly, sending a red wave of energy towards the Hanyou from the tip of his Zanpakuto. Inuyasha dodged again, and in a move that startled Ichigo, he made a motion with Tetsusaiga like he was cutting the air, and another of those blue energy waves issued from the blade.

As he watched Kisuke barely blocked the energy, even with Benehime shielding him from the attack, he was still thrown back several feet only years of practice keeping him from falling as he slid backwards. Next thing Ichigo saw was Inuyasha rushing forward taking advantage of Kisuke being off balance, the Hanyou coated his finger in the blood running down his chest, and shouting something that sounded like "Blades of Blood!" He tossed his hand, and what looked like red boomerangs flew from his hand, traveled across the distance, and one hit Kisuke on the cheek; a line of red started pouring down from the slice.

In that moment, Ichigo knew he had been right about Inuyasha the night before. He hadn't been trying to hurt them, he was defending himself, because with those kinds of attacks at his disposal he certainly wouldn't have yielded so easily had there been any real malice.

"I think that is enough for the day, we have an audience." Kisuke seemed content to ignore the blood now streaming down his cheek, and the disarray his clothes were thrown into as they fought.

Inuyasha listened to the shopkeeper, not completely dropping his guard until he saw the man sheath his sword. Only when that move was complete did he look around to find who was watching them. At the sight of spiky orange hair, he knew it was Ichigo.

Ichigo waited until the other two men came over to him before starting in on the question, "Inuyasha how did you find this place? How long were you two fighting? Those were some interesting attacks; Tetsusaiga has a few things in common with Zangetsu I wouldn't mind a spar to see how far that goes." He knew that was a lot of questions, but he forced himself to speak calmly, and not overwhelm the Hanyou like Rukia had that morning,

Inuyasha shared an odd look with Kisuke at Ichigo's first question; he took a moment to figure out the best way of salvaging this. Ichigo knew what Kisuke was, as he had taught him, but didn't know Isshin, there had to be a comprise, "I came here looking for a job, he realized what I am, and offered to spar with me for awhile. I may be able to help you with the Hollows." Inuyasha felt that was as safe an answer as he was going to find for the first question.

"Alright, that sounds good, we can use all the help we can get." If it had been anyone else speaking, that phrase would have sounded like a warm acceptance, from Ichigo it sounded like a serious business dealing.

Inuyasha wondered how old Ichigo was, now that he thought about it he realized Ichigo must be younger than his first impression had presented. Inuyasha knew for him to still be in school he must be in his teens; much younger than his words and expressions indicated.

Deciding to deal with that later, he finished answering Ichigo's questions, "I think we've been sparring for a few hours, I don't know for sure." He looked to Kisuke, who nodded in conformation of Inuyasha's answer.

"You were more blocking than fighting last night, give me a bit to heal and I wouldn't mind a spar with you." Inuyasha wouldn't deny it, he enjoyed fighting, just because he used his violent side to protect people didn't mean he didn't have it.

Kisuke quickly shook his head, "Not tonight. Ichigo you have an appointment you can't miss. Go get that taken care of, I will make sure Inuyasha is patched up and ready to go on patrol tonight." He said this both for Ichigo's benefit and to let Inuyasha know he had passed the test. Several hours of heavy sparring and the Hanyou hadn't surrendered, lost control, or fell to his blows. Kisuke hadn't had such a good workout since his last spar with Ichigo. Not that he would tell the boy that, Ichigo needed to train his power as far as it would go, if he didn't know where the normal limits were he had a better chance of surpassing them.

Ichigo looked wide-eyed, before he sighed in defeat, "How'd I guess you had a hand in it? You sent the Vizards to me, didn't you? I know Inuyasha didn't tell you about it, as I didn't say anything about when we would be meeting again."

"I am a, well for lack of a better word, friend to the Vizards. So yes, I knew about it, and I know it is the best ling for you. Go, I will take care of things here." Kisuke ordered, knowing Ichigo would look for any excuse to avoid the training he sorely needed. Ichigo needed some confidence. The orange haired Vizard was terrified he was going to hurt someone, and that fear was holding him back, and could possibly make him more dangerous in the end. It was better he learn control.

Inuyasha watched Ichigo dither for a few moments before making up his mind, slumping slightly as he stood, the reluctance was obvious in hid posture, and his voice was coated in it too as he replied, "Yeah, I know I need to go, I don't like it though."

"You don't have to like it, you just have to do it," Kisuke knew his words sounded harsh, and they were, but it had to happen that way. Ichigo had to fight passed this block in his mind.

"Ichigo," Inuyasha spoke up, surprising himself almost as much as the other two, "Don't be afraid of yourself. I spent years trying to blend in with humans so they wouldn't hunt me as a child, it never worked, and I would be driven out of the villages with the people throwing stones at me. If I had spent those same years training my strength, learning all I could about both sides of my heritage, those humans would still have run me out, but I would have been better prepared to take care of myself and avoid the rocks. You are only as dangerous as you allow yourself to be. Now get out of here and train until you drop, that is the only way you can keep those you care about out of danger."

Yes, Inuyasha was rash and impulsive, but he had spent three years thinking about the past, for once in his life he wasn't fighting for survival. His childhood was a painful memory, but looking back, he knew there were ways he could have survived it better. It was too late now, but Ichigo was now at a similar crossroads, and he couldn't not speak up. He wished someone had said those same things to him, maybe he wouldn't have gotten himself caught up in so many messes.

Ichigo locked his gaze with Inuyasha, gold meeting cinnamon as they stared each other down. Neither one backed down or looked away as they measured each other. Finally things clicked into place, and Ichigo nodded slowly, "Alright, I'll be going now. Take care of things until I get back."

Finally done stalling he quickly ascended the ladder and went for his body, now that he made the decision to go back he didn't want to be late.

Kisuke gave the still bleeding Hanyou a measuring look. "Thank you." He spoke simply, no games, jokes, or underhanded meanings. Inuyasha had just managed what both Kisuke and Yoruichi had been trying to get the boy to understand for months in the span of five minutes.

"How old is Ichigo?" Inuyasha asked impulsively, hoping for an answer, but not sure if he would like it.

"Fifteen," Kisuke responded. "He acts older, but I doubt he has even had his first kiss. The kid is too young to act that old."

"Hmm, Kagome was that old when I met her," Inuyasha thought, but at Kisuke's raised eyebrow he knew he had accidentally spoken aloud.

"Who is Kagome?" The shopkeeper asked curiously, he knew quite a bit about Inuyasha's past but over the last few hundred years there was nothing on him; it was as if he had traveled directly from the warring states period to now.

Inuyasha's ears dropped a bit, and a somewhat sad expression came over his face. "Kagome was my fiancée, she was a member of my pack during the times you spoke of, we were living peacefully but well, peace for me doesn't usually last."

Knowing he was probably over stepping his boundaries, Kisuke was too curious not to ask, "What happened to her?" He had caught the past tense Inuyasha had used.

"She betrayed me, we were supposed to have a pup together, when the child was born the baby wasn't mine." Inuyasha didn't realize how much pain he had locked away, that was the first time he admitted it out loud. The truth was stampeding over him, making his knees buckle, but he caught himself before hitting the ground. He had endured so much, this was just one more heart ache to add to the list.

His curiosity no longer driving him, instead he asked the next question out of the realization Inuyasha needed to talk, that physical reaction to his own words suggested the Hanyou hadn't dealt with the pain, and was bottling it inside. That was a recipe for disaster with as much power as the Hanyou possessed. "How long ago was this? For her to be part of your original pack this had to have happened hundreds of years ago."

The hollow laugh let out from Inuyasha had Kisuke second-guessing himself a bit, "No, it wasn't hundreds of years ago. The baby was born two days ago. I was searching for the Vizards to distract myself from it."

Kisuke couldn't get everything added up in his head, the only females recorded as part of his pack had been human; how on Earth had Kagome lived so long? "Was Kagome a Youkai?" Kisuke was confused, and Inuyasha was in pain, but nether wanted to give up the subject, Kisuke wanted answers and Inuyasha needed to talk.

"No, Kagome was a human, a Miko like my mother. She was capable of purifying evil, we met and grew close because she could sense the tainted Shikon No Tama, and I was strong enough to fight the demons in possession of the shards. It took us several years to track down all the pieces, and that was when the pack you read about came into being. We fought together to bring down our main opponent, the Shikon No Tama is a powerful thing. It could have made me a full demon. I chose to follow Kagome instead, remaining a Hanyou and using the jewel to heal the damage our battle had left on the land and people. We came back to her time and have lived together for three years. We were supposed to get married this spring, when she was recovered and the child was older." Inuyasha had only meant to answer the man's question over Kagome's species, but he hadn't been able to stop the story from spilling out.

Kisuke spent a good ten minutes digesting the information he had been given, watching with detached curiosity as the wounds he left on the Hanyou started to heal as time passed. Only when the bleeding on his own cheek stopped and wound began to knit back together did he speak again, there was one thing in the Hanyou's story that had struck Kisuke above the others. "Did you just say Kagome's time like it was different from yours?"

Inuyasha got the exact same expression on his face Ichigo had warn after Kisuke had reminded him about his appointment with the Vizards, it was comical how identical that look was, Kisuke would have smiled at it if Inuyasha's words hadn't drowned out his mirth. "You heard right. Kagome was from this time, I am from the warring states time, if it weren't for the interference of fate and a well I would be over five hundred years old right now, instead I am only about 200." That was a rough estimate, he wasn't sure exactly how old he was, the fifty years spent tacked to a tree had played havoc with his system and made his age hard to pinpoint.

If Kisuke had been a lesser man he might have collapsed in a pile of Shinigami at the shock, instead, his eyes widened and his knees felt like jelly. "So that's why you disappeared from the records. You really did travel directly here."

"Yes." Inuyasha replied simply, too emotionally drained to respond more. After the fight and the talk, he could use a good long soak in a hot spring and a nice tree to nap in.

He guessed he would settle for a bath and a bed. "I'm finished for now, if you want me on the streets tonight I will need some time." Inuyasha while being exhausted wasn't about to admit his weakness directly to the man that had dragged most of his secrets into the light.

Kisuke tilted his head in thought, recovering quickly from his shock. "I think if you turn to your left and walk a few paces you will find something you will enjoy, after that come upstairs, I have a spare room you may use today instead of tramping back and forth between here and Isshin's."

Inuyasha, too tired to respond, simply followed the directions given. Finding himself looking at a hot spring sunk into the ground a small smile curled on his face. He wouldn't have his favorite tree, but at least one good thing from his past was still around. Sinking up to his chin in the warm water, he felt the aches and pains of battle leave him. He would rest here, and then make good on his promise to protect this place. Kagome might be lost to him, but here was a place and people that needed him. He could live with that. Especially when the memory of determined cinnamon eyes staring into his own came back to him. Kisuke was right, that boy was too young to act so old. Maybe just maybe helping the serious young man could help Inuyasha heal, Kami knew both of them could use the support.


End file.
